In My Secret Life
by Birchbud
Summary: He looked up at the stars while waiting for her return, tracing circles in the dirt with his claws.
1. Chapter 1

_But I'm always alone, and my heart is like ice. And it's crowded and cold_

_ In my secret life.  
_

* * *

"Are you scared, Miko?"

Kikyo continued running through her routine: stab, twirl, charge, twist; her bare feet padded silently over the moonlit grass as she gracefully executed a complex series of attacks. Her face remained stoic as her white sleeves billowed and swirled around her.

It was the first time he'd spoken to her since joining their party and she was ignoring him. Sesshomaru tapped a finger against his thigh and repeated himself. "Are you scared, Miko?"

The priestess finished her routine. Stillness flooded back into the meadow. She turned to the demon and arched an eyebrow; he noted beads of sweat slipping down her pale skin. "Scared?"

Sesshomaru glanced at campfire wavering in the distance. Silhouettes gestured like shadows cast across the orange glow. "Yes," he murmured, turning his face to the night breeze. "Frightened."

Kikyo stood still, arms crossed, and gazed at the forest's dark walls pressing against the clearing. "Not for myself, no." She drew her arm up and pressed her hand against her neck where the shikon jewel used to rest, absently stroking the bare skin. She still felt off without its presence.

"For Inuyasha?"

She pursed her lips together and turned her eyes to Sesshomaru; they were as dark as the sky. She looked hollow. "For everyone. I'm scared for everyone."

The demon let out a slow breath. "As am I."

Kikyo stepped towards him and lightly touched his hand. The warmth of her skin surprised him, though he showed no reaction. _This could be the last time we speak._ They had a desire to open up and connect—anything to make the moment seem like it meant something. They settled for breathing in-sync and staring at their companions laugh before the flames.

"Good luck."

The final battle hovered like a bloody sunset on the horizon.

* * *

_your thoughts? Worth continuation?_


	2. Chapter 2

She was still.

In between the battle cries and over the stench of singed flesh, he noticed the priestess standing within the chaos like a white statue, as unmoving as the sun beating down on the carnage below. Her muscles were tense, her back straight. Smoke rose from the ashes of their campfire; their belongings lay strewn around the camp: a backpack, a dress, a bar of soap.

The monk fell.

A tentacle crept up behind Kikyo; before the purple appendage could bloat with acid she whipped around and shot it, burning the limb into a fine ash which drifted towards the ground like fog. Purifying energy twisted around her like a shield. Sesshomaru swung and pierced Naraku's flesh; it sizzled and burnt to his sword as the demon let forth a shrill cry and convulsed. The fighters ignored their fallen comrade and continued their assault. _Survive survive survive—_

The demon slayer fell.

The priestess turned and watched the fight progress, her features sinking into a cold detachment. The sun glinted off of her hair and lit up her robes. Screams echoed throughout the forest, curling into furrows and sliding over rocks. The charred grass was spotted with blood, pooling in spots beneath bodies.

The kitsune fell.

Every few seconds a pink blur would burrow into Naraku's flesh. In between shots Kikyo stood calmly, arms at her sides; she could find peace even in the heat of war. _Those are not bodies, they are objects. This is not death, this is sport. Win. _Sesshomaru counted his breaths and continued slashing. Naraku was slowing as they were dying. The jewel fragments pounded as if they had one heartbeat.

The half-demon fell.

The sun was sinking. Red rays of light shone across the meadow, and the clouds looked lined with blood. The birds were silent. Naraku's manic laughter reverberated off of tree trunks stripped of their leaves and bark, burnt to the bone. Kikyo closed her eyes to the orange sky and prayed.

The human girl fell.

The demon and priestess, side by side, drew their weapons and advanced upon their enemy. The taiyoukai focused on her clay-scent to block out the stench of death. Kikyo side-stepped Inuyasha's body without emotion. Sesshomaru blocked off the fear squeezing his heart. His half-brother's corpse looked so much like him lying lifeless in the earth. Naraku lashed out, missed, then coiled again. The Taiyoukai leapt at the demon, his hair stained red as the sunset's warmth curled protectively around them. _Pray for me—_

Sesshomaru fell.

* * *

_A/N: your thoughts? _:) 


	3. Chapter 3

He awoke while she was digging graves in the dark. From his bed in the dirt he watched her white robes swishing against the stars. Moonlight sparkled off of bloody puddles and lit up Kikyo's calm features. As his eyes trailed across stiff line of her jaw he noticed that her calm expression was tinged with a deep sadness. She was disheveled: hair matted, face dirty, body coated in sweat—she seemed human for a moment. He frowned; it unnerved him that she appeared so vulnerable_. The last of his family alive._ Loneliness crept down his spine; he shivered, and then the pain hit him. His side, between his hip-bone and navel—that's where wound gaped. He took a slow breath before calling out to Kikyo in a low voice.

"Priestess."

She stopped digging and scurried up from the wound in the earth, stopping before him with her arms crossed. Her fingernails were coated with dirt. He'd expected her to tend to him without hesitation, but he supposed she was looking for permission to strip him before evaluating his injury. "Are you injured?" he inquired.

"No. After you were struck I purified Naraku."

He raised his eyebrows and tensed in surprise. "You were powerful enough?"

Kikyo gestured to something on the other side of the clearing, out of his line of sight. "I took the Jewel from Kagome." She reached up and touched the pink sphere dangling below her collarbones. A small smile flickered across her face. "Its power aided me in Naraku's defeat."

"Without injury?" He frowned—her power rivaled his own.

"Yes. After he died I found the other half of the jewel. We'll need to dispose of it."

Irritation flared at her presumption that he'd help her destroy it. He would, of course, but it was her boldness that caused anger to prickle in his chest. "Isn't caring for the shard your duty?" _Now that the reincarnation has died._ The unspoken sentence soured their mouths and pressed against their lips; neither spoke of Kagome's death.

Kikyo knelt at Sesshomaru's side, her sleeves fluttering sadly like a caged bird's wings. "Do you want me to look at your wound?" She squinted at the flower of blood that took root at his side, growing to stain his kimono a blackened red. Sesshomaru nodded. She deftly unbuckled his armour—it was obvious that she'd had experience tending to the wounded. He relaxed slightly, sinking into the ground with a small sigh. After removing his chest plate she untied his kimono and pulled it away from his chest. Her expression didn't change once she saw the wound. "It should be cleaned."

"How deep is it?"

Kikyo stood and scurried away without responding. He looked up at the stars while waiting for her return, tracing circles in the dirt with his claws. He heard her footsteps approaching along with water sloshing and dripping. A dampened thud, then she was at his side, her curtain of dark hair shielding him once more. "I can't tear off a strip of cloth," she stated, staring pointedly at his claws. He raised his arm and winced; God it hurt to move. Before he could sit up her hand was on his, guiding it back down to rest by his side. The priestess untied her kimono and slipped it down her shoulders.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. Kikyo gathered up the fabric, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was shirtless before the demon lord. She found a clean section of cloth and dipped it in the wooden bowl. She moved with a calm preciseness; she was a healer, and there's no room for modesty in a crisis. Sesshomaru's eyes traced patterns in the stars as she gently dabbed away the blood caked around the wound.

"Your intestines are visible," she stated.

His nails dug into the dirt. "Unfortunate."

"I'll find herbs tomorrow," she said. "Ones that'll prevent infection. It isn't light enough for me to gather them yet. For now I'll rinse away the blood around it. I don't want to clean the wound itself; the water may not be pure. How fast do you heal?"

"Fast."

"How long before you're mobile?"

"A few weeks."

Kikyo sighed, her shoulders drooping with fatigue. "You'll be vulnerable." She placed her kimono over the wound as if covering the dead.

"We'll go to my lands while I heal. Ah-un will carry me."

Kikyo nodded solemnly then stood, arms at her sides. Sesshomaru's eyes didn't stray from her face. "You're tired, miko. Rest. Tend tomorrow to the dead."

Kikyo smiled gratefully and sunk down to lie beside him. "Sleep well Sesshomaru."

The two survivors slept side by side surrounded by bodies and blood. From a blackened tree branch, the first bird of morning cried out to the lightening sky.


End file.
